Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Small-town market · Iowa

Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Spirit Lake, IA area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Spirit Lake, IA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #414 of 536 scored small-town markets
#12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
36
3 chain locations (8%)
Official establishments
19
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$18M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,036 a household
Spending per listing
$500K
43% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
40.7
75% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
18,077
+1.7% since 2020

See the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses around any address in the Spirit Lake area

The site report maps the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Spirit Lake area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Spirit Lake area scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, ranking #414 of 536 scored small-town markets and #12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Spirit Lake area comes to about $18M a year: $2,036 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $500K of household spending for each business on map listings, 43% below the U.S. figure of $880K.

The Spirit Lake area has 36 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (8%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 40.7, 75% above the U.S. rate of 23.3.

Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Spirit Lake area in 2023. That is one for every 466 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $90K have gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Spirit Lake area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Spirit Lake area grew 1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Spirit Lake area compares

The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all clothing, shoes and related services by the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Clothing, shoes and laundry in Spirit Lake, IA area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureSpirit Lake areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households40.720.823.3
Spending per listing$500K$947K$880K
Households per official establishment4661,3401,008
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−14.3%−12.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.7%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,036$1,967$2,055
Median household income$75,432$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score3555

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
19
Employees, 2023
49
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
18Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
363 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
21The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$90K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Spirit Lake area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Spirit Lake area

Population, 2025 estimate
18,077+1.7% since 2020
Households
8,845
Median age
48.9
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
381 sq. mi.
People per square mile
47
Median household income
$75,432+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$102,164
Median home value
$270,700
Jobs located here
10,412
Daytime population
20,071Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Spirit Lake area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings by name and distance.

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Clothing, shoes and laundry across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Spirit Lake area marked.

Top small-town markets in Iowa

Small-town markets in Iowa ranked for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Marshalltown, IA732113.6$1.4M−0.5%#79 of 536
2Muscatine, IA682514.4$1.3M−3.0%#111 of 536
3Pella, IA642518.8$1.1M+2.3%#145 of 536
4Le Mars, IA631817.5$1.1M0.0%#151 of 536
5Oskaloosa, IA601517.2$1.1M−1.2%#181 of 536
6Fort Madison, IA582416.8$1.1M−3.6%#204 of 536
7Clinton, IA573819.5$962K−0.9%#216 of 536
8Ottumwa, IA503525.0$711K−0.3%#272 of 536
9Fort Dodge, IA454126.7$678K−0.4%#318 of 536
10Mason City, IA425524.2$778K−1.5%#342 of 536
12Spirit Lake, IA353640.7$500K+1.7%#414 of 536

Other business types in the Spirit Lake area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Clothing and laundry

Funeral services

Questions

How many clothing, shoe and laundry businesses are in the Spirit Lake, IA area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 36 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Spirit Lake area. 3 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023. Official counts list 18 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Spirit Lake, IA area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $18M a year, or $2,036 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 36 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $500K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,845 households in the Spirit Lake area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Spirit Lake, IA area compare with the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses?

The Spirit Lake area has 40.7 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 75% above the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $500K, 43% below the U.S. figure of $880K. At the U.S. ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Spirit Lake area would have about 21, against 36 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 466 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S.

How fast is the Spirit Lake, IA area growing?

Population estimates put the Spirit Lake area at 18,077 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,845 households. The median household income in the Spirit Lake area is $75,432 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Spirit Lake area scores 35 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (lower middle), #414 of 536 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Spirit Lake area. It maps the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses · All 56 business types in the Spirit Lake area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spirit Lake area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.